News

Members of CSters Club Attend Inspirational Grace Hopper Celebration, Women in Computing Conference
by Shannon Gosda

October 25, 2004 - Not many conferences are viewed as a celebration.  But the Grace Hopper conference is and the conference’s namesake is the inspiration.  Grace Murray Hopper was a mathematician, professor, computer scientist, a lieutenant in the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service), followed by commodore, then admiral, a research fellow at Harvard, inventor of the compiler, and all around visionary and “futurist.”  A tough act for the proceeding generation of women to follow, but obviously a stunning inspiration.  The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conferences are designed to bring women in the field of computer science together to inspire, educate, create awareness of opportunities, and celebrate the considerable achievement women have made in the field. 

Members of CSters, Rice’s society for women studying computer science, and computer science professor Dr. Lydia Kavraki attended this year’s celebration and not only soaked in the inspiration, but were able to inspire others as well.  Elspeth Simpson, senior in computer science, along with her fellow CSters, Christina Beatty, Amanda Cruess, Yian Lu, Andrea Pound, and Anna Youssefi, was greatly moved by the experience.  “It was amazing to see that many smart and talented women in one place,” said Simpson.  And since the conference attracts over 800 people, the odds of being inspired are high.

The conference assembles various forums where smaller groups of women gather to discuss specific topics.  The topics of discussion include career choices, how to achieve career goals, new opportunities in the field, tech talks to discuss the latest research, how to balance work and family, or as Simpson and colleagues were able to do, discuss ways to begin or improve academic clubs that support female students studying computer science.  CSters was founded by a group of female computer science undergraduates who realized more should be done to encourage women to pursue studies in computer science.  They hold informative lunch talks twice a month and have lab sessions once a week to provide tutoring and companionship.  Their focus is to provide a fun, informal way for female students interested in computer science to share information and network.

But probably the greatest impact the conference had on Simpson and her fellow CSters was seeing their professor and mentor, Kavraki, give the keynote speech.  “Her research is awesome,” said Simpson.  “It was great to see our professor up there knowing she is recognized as one of the leading women in computer science.  Everyone came up to me later and said, ‘You are so lucky to be going to Rice and taking classes from her!’”  Kavraki discussed her department’s research in probabilistic roadmaps used to develop algorithms that reason about molecular shape and motion.  Exploring the actions of molecules has led to their work in biomolecular interactions which is used in drug research. 

This year’s conference theme, “Making History,” was in honor of the history makers – past, present, and future – in their community.  As Simpson concluded, “It might sound corny, but that theme is so true.  It is important that we understand that we are the future and make the most of our opportunities.” 

Conference attendance was graciously sponsored by the Center for Excellence and Equity in Education CEEE, the Computer and Information Technology Institute (CITI), and the George R. Brown School of Engineering’s Dean’s office.

For more information on CSters, please visit their website.

Mailing Address: PO Box 1892, MS-132, Houston TX 77251-1892
Physical Address: 3122 Duncan Hall, 6100 Main Street, Houston TX 77005